


The Bucket List

by LanceTraaash



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Drama, F/F, F/M, Family, Fluff, Gen, High School, Junior High, Minor Character Death, Other, Romance, School Life, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-25 22:47:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9849935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LanceTraaash/pseuds/LanceTraaash
Summary: In a quiet, sleepy town where the days past in a blur, the sun shines graciously on its people, and the children grow as fast as the flowers, each life is vastly different yet alike in all the same ways as you’d expect. Watch as two boys fall prey to the guiding hand of fate, spiraling into a life they never thought possible. Welcome to Madison, where love springs from the most peculiar of things





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first time writing and posting any of my works so don't expect much? I'm not really sure what I'm doing so yeah, enjoy? Haha yay!

The sickly sweet scent of pastries drifted through the open doorway to Antonio’s bedroom. Its aroma engulfing the room entirely, leaving no trace of the woodsy fragrance from before. He slowly blinked his eyes to life, his eyelashes fluttering like a honey drowned moth padding its wings. The dull glint in his irises barely there. The boy wiggled his toes under the cover, awkwardly squirming his body so that he sat upright. He pulled his head to the light coming from outside. Two unfamiliar eyes were peeking in through the doorway, mossy green and brimming to a boil with innocent curiosity. The golden light spilling from the dining room fell softly over his body, bathing only half of him and making his appearance all the more stranger. Antonio cocked his head slightly, too drowsy to say anything. 

“Dessert is ready.” His voice was just barely hinting at a whisper. Antonio’s stomach rumbled quietly beneath the covers in response. He mumbled a laggard string of words in thanks, then slowly collected himself and planted his bare feet to the chilled floor. The sudden contact sent shivers across his skin, tiny mobs of goosebumps littering his arms and legs in an instant. The boy in the doorway only glared, eyebrows pushed slightly in favor of each other, hands bundled into tight fists at his sides, the slight kindling of a foreign emotion nestling in his half-shut eyes. “C’mon I don't want to stand here all day.” he spoke whilst tapping his foot impatiently against the mahogany. Antonio lifted his gaze to his dresser, shuffling towards it and pulling on a heavy sweatshirt. The cold fabric quickly warming with his heat. His eyes traveled again to the stranger. “Who are you?” he asked, as if only just realizing the peculiarity of his situation. The boy only huffed in response. Not allowing any notion as to why he was suddenly in Antonio’s doorway, or if he, himself, even knew where he was or what he was doing there. The seconds stretched wide, almost to a breaking point. Where time itself would crack in two and leave the boys in perpetual silence, stuck there without thought nor word, simply there. As if reading his mind, the other boy shook Antonio from his trance, turning a leg, and swiftly walking away. The slight smack of his shoes the only indication of his presence in the house.

Antonio followed the sweet perfume trailing from the kitchen. Tracing his hand over the wall, feeling the sleekness of its surface and admiring the various paintings that adorned it. Long beaded Rosaries and shiny crosses clung from the metal nails poking out of the sandy paint, the Rosaries swaying softly in his breadth as he treaded past them. 

The welcoming glow of the kitchen grew larger and larger until it completely basked Antonio in its glare. He wandered past the dining room and further away, sleuthing the source of the aroma he had awoken to. He was greeted by a fairly small gathering of people, his parents, old man Roma and two others, all surrounding what was possibly the largest cake he had ever had the pleasure of laying his eyes upon. “Oh, sweetie! You came just in time, we were about to begin decorating the cake, join us won’t you?” His mother’s words spilled from her lips like a song but he knew it was much more of a command rather than an inquiry. The strange boy from earlier peeled his head away from the cake. A small dollop of blue frosting rested on his cheek and he held a fat piping bag in his right hand. Antonio chuckled slightly. He thoughtlessly pulled his hand up and swept the flat of his thumb to the boy’s skin, wiping away the colorful frosting. Grinning cheerfully at the boy as he popped his finger into his mouth and licked away the sugar. The stranger scowled at him, his mouth quivering in annoyance. His face growing progressively redder as Antonio watched him cluelessly, the warm tint creeping up from his neck and taking permanent settlement on the pale stretch of his skin. His mother patted the empty space next to her, signaling for her son to stop bothering the boy. 

“Hello little Antonio!” came a heavily accented voice. 

“Good evening, old man!” 

Roma chuckled heartily at the child’s response. “I’d like to introduce you to two very special people.” He rested his hulking palms on the tops of the two heads of the children by him. “This here” he said tousling chestnut hair “is Lovino, and over here we have Feliciano.” Feliciano smiled brightly enough to illuminate a room, his chocolate eyes shimmering in the light. “Something happened back home and they’ll be living with me from now on!” His every word echoed throughout the long halls of the home, shaking its very frame. 

The party chattered the time away, meticulously embellishing the cake until the summer sun had fallen under the horizon and the sky had melted into a star-speckled ebony. The crescent moon threading through the gloom. Tall wine glasses filled half full with a sour burgundy kept the adults dizzy with delirium as they bit into their food. Antonio, Lovino, and Feliciano sat on the porch, bundled in thin blankets. They listened to the buzzing repertoire of the night choir. The jolting cry of the crickets. Sweet song that drifted endlessly from their bows and to the persistent chirping of the cicadas in the sycamore trees. Feliciano hummed quietly, his voice only a background thought.

“Where are you two from?” Antonio inquired, smoothing over the splinters in the wood as he spoke. 

“Italy. We used to live in a giant mansion next to our vineyard in the countryside, our parents owned it but now grandpa will take be taking care of it until we’re old enough to run it. Have you ever tasted wine, Antonio? I rather dislike it, although, Lovino doesn’t mind it. I don’t know how he does it, it’s far too bitter for my liking. Antonio is a funny name, we have a cousin in Italy named Antonio, you two would get along very nicely, I’m sure o-oof.” Lovino slapped Feliciano’s back and slipped a finger to his brother’s lips.

“Shut up, Bastardo! I’d prefer if you would, for once, refrain from your idiotic ramblings. I’ve heard enough of them to last a lifetime and I’d rather we not add another to the already too long list.” Lovino quibbled, shaking his head as he spoke. The annoyance in his tone as plain as possible.

“Well, somebody is feeling quite contrary today.” Feliciano snapped.

“What are you talking about, I’m always like this!” Lovino retorted.

“Not when you’re talking to the schoolgirls. He’s quite the charmer, Toni. You should’ve seen him back in Italia, never a dull day for those girls.”

The trilling of the insects became a discordant mess of sound in Antonio’s ears. 

“Agh. Why does he need to know about my personal life. Telling him should be my job not yours!”

Antonio listened to the brothers quarrel. Their words bouncing back and forth without a moment of hesitation. No room for him to jump in, not that he really felt it was necessary anyways. In the midst of their conversation, a door creaked open. It’s rusty hinges squealing painfully. 

“It’s about time we get going boys. It was a pleasure seeing you again, Antonio. Stop by the restaurant whenever you’d like.” He winked then scooped the feverish children in his arms and made his way through the garden gate. Antonio watched his figure disappear into the night, his mind fuzzy and soft with pointless thought. 

He awoke the next morning to the pleasant symphony of the chirping birds, still blinking the sleep from his eyes. The brunette laid curled tightly in last night’s sweatshirt, too drowsy to move or think, instead resting for far too long under the covers. Eventually he would sober up and begin preparations for school but for now, he could not find it in himself to do so. He pondered the various situations that could arise from today and how he would get through them. It was a pointless exercise. Never had he remembered what to do nor had he ever tried to listen to himself from this time in the day. Instead blindly following the more reckless side of him. The one that thrived off of risky behavior, a devilish demeanor that scared away many of his classmates. A steady rapping on the window pulled Antonio from his thoughts. A pale hand was smacking against the glass impatiently. “Stop that now or you’ll crack the glass and I refuse to help pay for that!” he clamored loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. His demand was only met by an even more persistent tapping and Antonio stumbled out of bed. He unlocked the window and lifted it up in a smooth motion. Francis whistled outside. “Impressive.” Gilbert rolled his eyes, “Oh shut up already. Give me a hand now, Toni.” He hefted the two boys through the frame and into his bedroom where they each landed with a soft “pap” onto the plush carpet. “Why didn’t you guys just go through the front door?” They looked into each other's eyes, unsure of themselves. “I don’t know.” Gilbert answered. 

The three tread the worn sidewalk to school. Knots of overgrown vegetation crept through cracks in the pavement, the sky cloudy and pink in the wake of dawn. While Francis and Gilbert chatted away, Antonio found himself backtracking to the night before. The two brothers and strange voices so thick in a foreign accent it was sometimes hard to tell what they were saying. How they would drift slowly from English to Italian then back again, remembering his presence and inability to understand their native tongue. The bite of Lovino’s words and the way he puffed his cheeks every time he heard something he didn’t like. The way Feliciano would go on and on without even thinking, words came so naturally to him. The unruly curls that sprang from their hair. Everything about them was new and fresh and exciting. “Have you two met the Vargas brothers?” His friends gazed at him, confusion clouding their faces. “Who?” Antonio shook his head and shrugged off the topic.

**Author's Note:**

> So, that's it for now I guess. I plan on writing more but school can be quite demanding and I'm not sure how long it'll take. Thanks for reading! I really do appreciate it!  
> Love,   
> me ~haha yay


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